


Mirror Souls, Book one: An adventure in Feudal Japan

by TheAlienAwakens



Series: The Mirror Souls [1]
Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anime, F/M, Love Triangles, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-17
Updated: 2013-04-29
Packaged: 2017-12-08 18:30:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/764622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAlienAwakens/pseuds/TheAlienAwakens
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Starlight Narita is the Princess of a world filled with humanoid beings called Mirror Souls, who harness the power of reflective surfaces to travel between many different worlds. They are a peaceful civilization and do not believe in using violence to solve their problems.</p>
<p>The quiet and serenity of Echo is broken, however, when Princess Starlight has her life threatened by an unknown assailant. The Princess has to evacuate her world in order to keep her people, and her family, safe. She, along with her best friend Skye, will enter a random world that neither have ever visited before. Will they survive in this mysterious place that they've never been taught to survive in?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Prologue

 

 

                Mirror Souls: An ancient, magical being that is able to manipulate the reflective properties of mirrors, lakes, oceans, and other reflective surfaces to open portals to whole other realities and dimensions.

                The Souls were born when a man (who, if he lived in our world, would be Japanese), longed to leave his horrible, lonely life without the pain of death. He searched all around his world (far more advanced than our own), until he came across a woman who claimed to be a witch that had perfected time travel. Not knowing that the woman was just a human con-woman, he paid every cent he had for the 'magical' potion in her possession. The potion, as the man found after he paid for and drank a quarter of the liquid, was just water from a strangely clear puddle the woman had happened across and filled every vial she had with the water.

                He was very depressed after that, thinking he'd have to take his own life. He bought a knife and went to the nearest shoreline, the bottle of fake potion in his pocket. He hoped to that after stabbing himself in the heart, his body would fall into the ocean and float away, off the edge of the earth where nobody would ever find him. As he was about to plunge the knife into his chest, he tripped backwards and fell into the frothy surf. He sucked in a breath of water, thinking that maybe this would be a better way to die than a knife wound. He was about to suck in another mouthful, when he realized he wasn't under water anymore.

                The man slowly sat up and found himself in a bed of soft, green moss in a clearing in a forest. As he took in his surroundings, he noticed a little boy standing just hidden by the trees. The boy watched him silently until the man coaxed him over. It was when the young boy was out of the trees that the man noticed the ears. The boy didn't have normal ears on the side of his head. No, his ears were in their normal spot, just pointed. He had a tail, too. A fluffy, orange fox tail. He was a Kitsune- one without parents.

                The little Kitsune boy and the now magical man became fast friends. Turned out, the boy, after hearing the man’s story, head seen water matching the description the man gave him, but couldn’t remember where as he’d been travelling for many years since he’d been orphaned. They searched and searched for years, spreading their story and collecting helpers along the way to drink from each crystal clear body of water to see if it had the magical properties they longed for.

                Finally, after the deaths of many of their explorers, they found the sacred water in a lake. The human who drank it stepped into the lake and disappeared from sight. Happy they’d found what they were looking for, the clan collected the water and voiced their story far and wide, attempting to widen their discovery as far as possible. It was then the Japanese man decided he could use this to start his own species.

                He worked very hard for ten years, hoping to perfect a race that he dreamed to be peaceful and non-violent to the uttermost extent. Finally, his dream came true. The once tiny clan was now a race of ten thousand. With this, it was decided that the Reflecting Souls (as they called themselves) needed a world of their own.

                The clan travelled through many worlds, searching for one that was close to or completely uninhabited. By pure miscalculation, they landed in the perfect world. Other than animals and occasional undeveloped human, it was unpopulated. They made this world their own and, because of the strange, reflective stone they found only in that world, named the world Echo.

 

 (~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)

 

 

**_A/N: Sooo, yeah. I know the prologue sucked, but if there’s any questions you have about it, don’t hesitate to ask._ **


	2. Chapter One

Earth year: 2012. Echo year: 5023

 

 

Starlight's POV

 

The sounds of swords clashing filled the training arena. The dull clang of metal against metal rattled my very core and vibrated my bones. I leaned against the low wall that circled the training ground, back sheath digging into my spine. I wrapped my arms around my waist and sighed. My instructor was late again. He was always late. Didn't he know it was bad to keep royalty waiting? I yanked on the elastic keeping my long black hair away from my face and let my hair fall free. It always gave me a headache to keep it up too long, because there was so much hair and it was heavy as hell.

A sound at my shoulder made me freeze. There was a shuffling, like feet trying to be quiet, to my left. I reached back and drew both my swords in a cross motion and spun quickly. My swords met with another pair in a bone-jarring block; I held my ground. The face of Master Roki, my trainer, grinned at me. I rolled my eyes and twisted out of the block.

"You asshole." I muttered, sheathing my swords again.

"Just making sure you're not letting your guard down," He eyed me curiously, "Ever."

"And what if I had?"

"You'd have a serious welt on your butt."

I lowered my head and glanced up at Master Roki through my long lashes. He blinked at me, feigning nonchalance, but I saw him pause for a second. This look gets everyone, whether you see it coming or not.

"You're not supposed to taint the Royal skin." I said innocently.

"Well, I--" Roki stuttered, "It wouldn't have been THAT bad a mark..."

I smiled sweetly. "I thought so."

"Let's just start training."

Master Roki spun quickly on his heels and marched away, his eyes avoiding mine the whole time. He was younger than most of my trainers- only in his early-twenties. This made him more vulnerable to my status. As well as being the Princess, I was stunning. And no, I'm not conceited. It's true. The Royal family and anyone who works for me is supposed to take great pride in their appearance, and I take it very seriously. Mostly because I was a pretty ugly child. Master Roki seemed to take it seriously, as well. In addition to his young, clear face and soft chocolate brown eyes, he also had a head of thick chestnut hair that went down to his shoulders that he took very good care of. It fell into his eyes sometimes and--

"Watch out, Princess!" Master Roki's voice snapped me out of my thoughts and had me drawing my swords again.

I turned in a smooth, quick circle. There was a man standing just a few feet away, Jewel-handled sword in hand and poised to attack. He suddenly dashed at me, too fast for any human. I ducked under a slash at my neck and blocked another that was arching down towards my head. The man's face was hidden behind a Japanese Fox mask and his white-ish hair reached past his shoulders. The burnt orange cape flowing behind him almost tripped me during the initial attack.

"Well, don't you look like a Manga gone wrong." I said. He slashed and I jumped backwards, out of reach and kept my swords crossed to block. "Who the hell are you?"

The man stopped and lowered his sword, staring at me like he wanted me to do the same. It made me do just the opposite: Tighten my grip and adjust my stance from block to attack with one sword pointed out in front of me and the other above my head. I repeated my question, but with more malice in my voice. The man just cocked his head to the side and stared at me. After about two minutes of silence, he finally spoke.

"You're not the true heir. You need to die." He whispered in a strained voice. It sounded like someone was strangling him. He looked up to the sky, as if someone was calling him. "But not today."

Then, the man reached towards the sky and jumped up into the air, higher than anyone I've ever seen. A fluffy white cloud twisted down towards his outstretched fingers and seemed to suck him up in. As it reformed back in its spot, there was no trace of my new and mysterious enemy. There was silence in the arena, every person with their eyes on me. I would never trust clouds again. Suddenly, Master Roki's hand was on my shoulder. I pushed him away.

"Princess--" He started, but I put my hand up.

"Stop," I said in a commanding voice. Master Roki clamped his mouth shut. "I want to know how this man got past the guards, and I want to know NOW!"

Master Roki bowed quickly and scurried off towards the closest guard post. I hated being all royal on my people, I really did, but sometimes it's what is needed to get stuff done. I sheathed my swords. The sliding sound they usually made against the leather was duller, meaning the swords themselves were dull. I'd have to get them sharpened again.

A Sharp pain caused me to glance at my hands. There were deep impressions where I'd gripped the ruby-and-sapphire incrusted hilts a bit too tightly. I rubbed my palms together and made my way towards the armory to store my weapons. It was a big, cavernous room with swords and bow and arrows piled up to the ceiling. There were even some guns, but because we don't like to provoke violence, they're stored in the back room.

"Konnichiwa, Hime-dono." The big, burly blacksmith greeted me and lowered to the floor in a bow. His black hair fell over his slanted eyes and he pushed it back with a huff.

"Hello, Sennin-san." I blushed and gestured for him to rise. Like I said, I didn't like the whole royal thing. Whether it is me giving orders or people bowing to me, it made me uncomfortable. I guess I'm just not used to it yet.

Sennin was one of the many Japanese people employed to the palace. Most of the Keeper population was Japanese because of our beginnings with the Japanese idiot who drank accidentally-magical puddle water. Since that beginning long ago, more people who weren't Japanese started becoming Keepers and we became a peaceful civilization with lots of different races and cultures living in harmony.... But Japanese was the majority.

"I need my swords sharpened." I told Sennin. I didn't know his first name, as per customs. It wasn't a close enough employee for me to know that information. Not like Master Roki or any other of my trainers.

"Oh? Must've been quite battle with the mysterious man." Sennin took the sheath from me, drew the swords and examined them. "That's strange." He turned his back to me to see the swords in better light

"What is?" I stood on my tiptoes to peer around the big man's shoulders- a failed attempt to see what he meant.

"Come this way, please, Hime-dono." He said.

Sennin walked further into the armory and placed the swords on a table that looked like it had been once a nice, polished Mahogany. Now, it had dents and scratches that would have made Effie Trinket die of a heart attack. Sennin leaned close to the swords and said nothing. I tapped my foot impatiently for about five minutes before I finally got frustrated.

"So?" I asked, "What's 'strange' about my swords?"

Sennin went pale. "They were dulled by fire."

"But the guy... He didn't use any kind of fire."

"Not a visible fire."

I stared at Sennin stupidly. "Huh?"

The blacksmith blinked. "Uhh, I don't know. I'll investigate it and let you know." He smiled.

I nodded suspiciously. "Alright. I'll let you get back to work."

Sennin bowed his goodbye. "Arigato, Hime-dono."

I left the armory without questioning Sennin any further. I knew he was hiding something, but I wouldn't get the answer from him. Most likely, he'd tell Master Roki before he even thought about telling anyone else. And after he tells Roki, I'll bat my eyelashes and Roki will tell me. It might even be helpful since they're MY swords anyway.

No time to dwell on that, though. I just wanted to go home. Back to Mum and Skye. And Dad, if he was home. He traveled a lot for work, so we was rarely home. When he was, it was fun. I just hope he's home now.

"Princess!" Master Roki's voice called out from behind me. I looked over my shoulder in time to see Roki come up behind me, panting from exertion. "Where are you going, Princess?"

"Home," I answered simply.

"And home would be..?"

"In my own world. Not the Palace here in Lunar Valley, but back through the Mirror to my tiny one bedroom house."

"Oh." Roki's face fell. "I figured since we haven't found out whom that man was, you'd stay here."

I glanced at him as we walked back to the palace. "Why would I stay here? For all we know, I'll be safer in my own world because he doesn't know where I live."

"OR," Roki argued, "He knows exactly where you live in that world, and also knows that you'll be less armed there, so he'll try to kill you."

I stopped and turned to look Master Roki right in the eye. I could see the worry behind his fierce gaze. I sighed and looked away, looking for the words to convince him that I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself. He knew I was, he just didn't want me hurt. When I looked back at him, the stubborn look was planted firmly on his face. Time to turn to desperate measures. Leaning up on my tiptoes, I planted a light kiss on Master Roki's cheek. He tensed and I smiled to myself.

"I'll be fine," I whispered in his ear, then slowly, hesitantly, used a name I haven't used for Master Roki in years, "Ro-chan."

From where I was positioned near his chest, I felt more than heard Master Roki sigh as he patted my head gently. "I know you will be. Just be careful, okay?"

I pulled back and we stared at each other for a long time. The old spark, our old friendship, flashed like lightening between us. When we were just children, we'd been very good friends. Roki's family has worked for mine for generations and I'd grown close to Roki when he'd wander around the palace in secret. We were both kids forced into stressful things at a young age, so we'd found comfort in venting to each other, but when it was time for him to become the swordsman of the palace, he got too busy and we grew apart. And then I was crowned Princess, so he definitely wasn't allowed near me after that. It's been hard.

"I'll see you later, ok?" I said reassuringly.

Roki nodded and bowed. "Until then, Princess." Then, he turned and left.

Sometimes, I hate being Princess.

 

_**Back in the human world…** _

Slowly, I peeked through the mirror. The room in the reflection was cluttered and dark: the storage room in my house. I stepped through the mirror fully and adjusted my tank and yoga shorts. It was always weird getting back into the clothes of my own world after dressing in armor or the dumb dresses required in front of citizens of The Valley.

When I Travelled to another world for a short period of time, I used the excuse I was going for a stress-relief jog. For longer periods, I said I was visiting family. Mum helped with those excuses so we could trick Skye. Not that I liked lying to my best friend, mind you, but it’s forbidden to reveal the existence of Mirror People to a human. So my secret stays with me and Mum.

The hallway outside the storage room was silent. I slowly opened the door and slipped out, shutting it behind me quietly. Listening closely, I could hear Skye’s footsteps in the attic above me. Good. Now I only have to open and shut the door to the hallway. Mum’s at work, so I don’t have to worry about her. I quickly make the sounds like I’m coming home and shut the hallway door audibly.

“Oooooh, my bestie is hooommeee!” Skye peeked down the stairs and grins at me. “You’re early.”

Yeah, getting attacked by a crazy dude in a Kitsune mask tends to put a damper on plans. That’s what I wish I could say, but I can’t talk to Skye about Princess problems, so I smiled at her and shrugged. “Roadblock on my route. I was too lazy to take the long way around so I just came home.”

I climbed the stairs two at a time and emerged in the attic. I used to live up here alone but when Skye came to live with us, I had to give up half of the space. Not that I’m complaining; I love Skye and it was my idea for her to live with us after her Mom went off to look for her father, who went missing on an excavation in Egypt. I crossed the room and slid the curtain back to reveal my side of the room. I had the back half because, so matter how much I loved Skye or my mother, I valued my privacy when I needed it and I couldn’t get it if Skye had to walk through my half to get to hers.

“Momma went out earlier, by the way.” Skye and I were so close that we called each other’s parents Mom and Dad. “She seemed worried.”

Putting my back to Skye to remove my tank top and sports bra, I shrugged. “Probably just something to do with Dad. She always gets worried when he can’t come home on schedule.” I pulled on a lacy red bra, my yellow penguin t-shirt and some jeans. “Have you eaten yet?”

Skye shook her head, staring at my chest. “Ali called half an hour ago and asked if we wanted to go out for supper when you got back. She’s just getting done work now, so she should be here soon.”

I agreed to supper and snapped my fingers in front of Skye’s face. “Stop.”

“But I’m jealous!” Skye pouted.

I looked down at my chest. I was only a c-cup, not that big, but Skye was only an A so she got jealous of most girls’ breasts easily. “Don’t jealous, bestie. I’ve met some guys who prefer smaller breasts.

Skye’s eyes lit up. “Really?! Do I know them?”

My head drifted back to Lunar Valley, where I once caught my younger male servants slacking off and talking about how they figured bigger breasts got in the way when trying to kiss a girl. In response to hearing these words, I kissed the nearest guy. Mirror people customs don’t frown upon kissing people randomly, as long as you don’t go any further than that, and getting kissed by royalty is considered an honor, so the guy I kissed was actually quite pleased; it didn’t sway his opinion, though.

“No,” I answered Skye, “you don’t know them.”

Skye crossed her arms across her chest and sulked. “Fine.”

“Hey,” I touched Skye’s forehead and shot a smile at her. As a reaction her jaw slacked slightly and her eyes glazed over. It was a bad thing to use Mirror powers on humans, but I couldn’t stand to see her sad, so I sometimes hypnotized her to be happy. As I opened my mouth to speak the spell, a voice cut me off.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

Too quickly, I bounced away from Skye and fell to the floor, smashing my head hard. As I attempted to rub the pain away, I cracked one eye open to see my Mum standing on the top stair, glaring at me. Skye lay on the floor where I left her, unconscious from the sudden break of power.

“What have I said before about using your powers here?” Mum scolded.

“’To not to,’” I mocked my mother’s tone, “But I slipped up and said something I shouldn’t have, so I had to make her forget.”

Yeah, it was a lie, but it was better than the truth.

Mom studied me carefully, and then nodded slowly. “Alright, whatever. Better than her knowing, I suppose. Help me get her into bed, and then we need to talk before she wakes up.”

Scared to know what Mum needed to talk to me about, I hastily helped her get Skye off the floor. Then, we went down stairs and into the kitchen. Almost instantly, I saw the reason for our upcoming conversation. On the island in the middle of the kitchen was a huge brown envelope. It was open and the contents were spilled out. What caught my eye first was the pendent.

“Is that—“ I asked cautiously.

“Yes,” My mother said, “A Maker’s charm.”

There are three different kinds of Mirror People: Keeper, Maker, and Traveller. As Princess, I had the powers of all the kinds, but other Mirror people were limited to two at the most. The highest rank was Makers, who had the powers to enchant and make the Mirrors used for Travelling. We wouldn’t be able to pass through the worlds so easily if it wasn’t for them, as we’d still be using reflective bodies of water (where a lot of Mirror Souls drowned).

The second ranking ones were Keepers, who sometimes have the powers of Travellers as well and protected all the mirrors used for Travelling. They had to keep track of all the beings that passed through their assigned mirrors. I looked at Keepers as the equivalent to Border guards when entering another Country.

The third-but nowhere least important- rank was Travellers themselves. Though weaker than other Mirror People, their job is to make sure each world stays in as close to perfect harmony as it can get. Travellers can’t attempt to stop wars, mind you, but they do their best to make peace. People who are for woman’s and gay rights are usually Mirror People.

“Who’s this from?” I asked Mum, picking up the necklace. It was a normal Maker’s necklace; a leather choker with what seemed to be a metal spike on it. In reality, that metal spike was a vial that carried the enchanting liquid that started the whole Mirror race.

“Theresa.”

The choker slipped from my hands and went flying towards the floor. Luckily, Mum was quick and she caught it before it could break, and a Mirror necklace breaking was VERY bad luck.

“But that means—”

The words caught in my throat as Mum grabbed me and pulled me to the floor just as all the windows in the kitchen were blown inwards. Almost instinctively, I felt my powers surge from my body and I erected a barrier to stop the glass from hitting us. Bouncing off the barrier, the sharp shards clattered harmlessly to the floor and the house fell eerily silent.

“Quick,” Mum said, “Get Skye and get out of here.” She stood up and my barrier broke.

“Wha—Wait!” I stood up too, and grabbed her arm, “What about you?

“Listen,” Mum grabbed my shoulders, “I met up with Master Roki on the way home and he told me all about your little battle during training. They’re after you and I’ll hold them off for as long as I can, but you have to grab Skye, as well. She can’t defend herself quite yet.”

Little blobs of paint floated up around us and I watched as Mum concentrated hard to not drop them. Although she didn’t have all the powers to be qualified as Queen, she still had the Mirror blood in her, so she had a weaker type of power: the ability to manipulate liquids. Before our house could be ambushed, I grabbed the choker I dropped and ran out of the kitchen.

The living room was in a state of total chaos. The windows were broken in here, too, and it looked like a wind storm had blown through it. Ignoring the urge to look around to see what had happened; I rushed towards the hallway and went in, shutting and locking the door behind me just as I heard people enter the house. I was quick to rush up the attic stairs, only to find Skye not in her bed, but on my side of the room in a stranger’s arms.

“Lye, Help!” Skye pleaded urgently.

Before I could even think, I felt my human ears dissipate and the popping of my orange fox ears. Skye’s eyes widened, but I disregarded her, settling my now purple eyes on the heavy built man behind her. He had one arm around her neck and the other with a plain dagger pressed against her left breast.

“Let her go,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Why should I? My mission is to get you, and kill anything that gets in the way,” He tightened his grip and Skye whimpered, “She got in the way.”

I stepped closer and the man tsked, pressing the blade harder into Skye, forcing me into an impasse. If I stepped any closer, he’d stab her. If I didn’t do something soon, he’d stab her anyway. I didn’t have my swords with me, but I could fight without a weapon; I was a weapon by myself.

Without warning, I swung my hand in the man’s direction. A burst of blue foxfire shot towards him. He gasped, obviously not expecting me to be able to fight, and put his arms up to block- too late. The ball of flames hit him square in the face and he screamed, falling towards the window behind him. He grabbed at Skye, but I used my youkai speed and seized her first, pulling her out of his reach. The man fell out the window and fell to the ground. The heavy body hit with an audible crunch and I turned away before I looked out.

“Oh. My. God,” Skye pushed me away and stood back, “What the hell is this?!”

Skye gestured to my body and I suddenly felt self-conscious. In my Kitsune form, I was taller than Skye and I didn’t like it. I let my body shrink again, but kept my eyes and ears in youkai form. The difference in body height gave me less agility, but I really wouldn’t need it that badly.

“Listen, I’ll explain it all when we’re safe. Right now, you just need to trust me.” I held out my hand, but Skye hesitated. “Please,” I added quietly.

After a bit more reluctance, Skye finally took my hand and I pulled her to the little alcove that was placed smack-dab in the middle of the attic. The alcove led to a door that opened up to a rarely used Widow’s Peak on the roof. We climbed out and I shut the door behind us.

Down below, I could see mum standing in the backyard, looking mostly unharmed. She waved to us and then ran off into the wooded trail behind the house. We had a meeting point that we’d meet up at later, but my main priority was to get Skye out. Letting go of Skye’s hand, I took a couple steps back, then jumped a running leap over the railing. I soared through the air and landed lightly on the grass below. Then, I turned around and held my arms out for Skye. She stared at me like I was nuts.

“Have you even known me to let you fall?” I asked.

Eyes moving towards my animal ears, she answered, “Apparently, I didn’t know you as much as I thought I did.”

“I thought you were going to trust me.” I whined.

A sound from the attic caused Skye to turn around- just as the door burst open in front of her. To my disbelief, the masked man from before appeared in the doorway, paint splattered and wielding his swords.

“JUMP!” I cried loudly.

Skye did just that and vaulted the railings, just as the man swung one of his swords at her. She squeezed her eyes shut, obviously expecting to go *Splat,* but I wrapped my arms around her in mid-air and lowered her carefully to the ground.

“Now run!”

I grabbed her hand and let her into the forest. We ran as fast as we could, but hauling Skye along behind me was proving to be a challenge, as she wasn’t as fast or as nimble as I was, and we nearly fell to our faces many times. Therefore, I surveyed the area around us, looking for a suitable hiding spot. Suddenly my eyes landed on a fallen tree just a few feet off track, its gigantic roots making a tiny niche just big enough to hide us both in.

“This way, hurry!”

We turned off the path and headed towards the tree. I pushed Skye in first and then crawled in after her. I used a tiny flame of foxfire to see as we adjusted so I was blocking view of Skye. Concentrating hard, I raised another barrier and waited.

Two minutes later (yes, I counted), the masked man appeared on the trail. He stopped just where we turned off and seemed to sniff the air. Swiftly, he started towards us and Skye sucked in a breath.

“I can feel your barrier, Princess.”

I was shocked into total silence. His voice was much different from before. It was suddenly stronger, deeper, and more confidant sounding. It was the voice of a man raised by nobles or royalty.

“If you come out now, Princess, I promise not to hurt your little friends.”

I caught on to the plural he placed at the end of his sentence. I decided to reply, but I threw my voice a little ways away.

“Why the plural, fox-face?”

The man turned in the direction of where I tossed my voice and chuckled. “You don’t think I’d attack without a backup plan, do you? I’ve watched you for quite some time now, and I know the location of Ali Walker and Leah Garcia. I’ll let them go if you just let me….” He twisted his body back around and lunched straight at the tree we were hiding in, “Kill you!”

I sent a flow of foxfire at his face and he was temporarily blinded. I dragged Skye from the tree and pushed her towards the trail, enclosing the choker in her hand.

“Follow the trail until you find Mum. Don’t stop, don’t look back, just keep running.”

With only a second of uncertainty, Skye dashed away and I swivelled back towards the blinded man. Before he could recover, I touched my index fingers together and brought them to my mouth. I whispered a quick spell into them and then shot it at him. The mask cracked on his face and fell off. He quickly lowered his head, shouting in pain.

“I cannot see,” the man’s voice was raspy again, “therefore, you win this battle. But be forewarned: I WILL be the one to kill you, false heir.”

A pitch-black cloud swirled down and sucked him up, leaving me standing on my own in pure silence. I collapsed onto the ground and heaved a heavy sigh, thinking only one thought.

_‘This is only the beginning.’_


	3. Chapter Two

Skye’s POV

 

“Okay, speak again, Skye. But this time: slower.”

I took a deep breath, sucking in the cool spring air. I’d ran for at least ten minutes at top speed before I’d finally found Lye’s Mum, Sam, hiding in a little camp in an obviously man made clearing. I’d tried to sputter out what had happened, but I was too out of breath to speak. Finally, I had enough air in my lungs to make partly comprehensible sentences.

“Guy in a mask found us, and he attacked, I was told to run, and—“ I glanced behind me, hoping to see Lye coming, but she wasn’t. “Sam, what’s going on?”

Without a word, Sam took me gently by the shoulders and led me into the little log cabin that was nestled into the trees. Inside were just three rooms, a small kitchen and an equally small living-room (separated by only a half-wall) with two loveseats and a TV, and a bathroom off the kitchen. I was led to one of the love seats and I sat down. Sam sat beside me and sighed deeply.

“First off, did Lye give you a necklace?” Sam asked to start.

I nodded and opened my hand, where the choker Lye had given me sat. The metal spike had driven into my hand during the run, but I was so confused about everything that I barely registered the pain. Sam took it from my hand and clasped it around my neck gently.

“Don’t ever lose this, it’s important. Okay?” I nodded in response and she smiled, relieved, “Good. Now what do you want to know first.”

Thinking carefully about my questions, I settled on the one that had jumbled my thoughts the most, “Lye’s ears…” I pointed to my head, unsure about how to explain it.

“It’s her Kitsune (fox demon) form; just one of her many powers.”

“One of many…?”

Sam bit her lip, thinking hard. “As you’ve probably already guessed, Lye’s not quite human. She’s got many different types of powers because she needs them all for… Oh, how should I explain it,” Sam paused for a second, then snapped her fingers, “You know all those legends about scary people in mirrors, and how if you break a mirror, it’s bad luck?”

“Like Bloody Mary?”

Sam smiled, “Yeah! Well, those legends are somewhat true. See, when people try to ‘summon’ someone like Bloody Mary, they’re actually reciting an ancient chant that was once used to open portals to whole different worlds.”

I must’ve looked lost, because Sam attempted to explain in more detail.

“So the Bloody Mary chant says you should say her name three times while spinning, right?”

“Yeah,” I said, “But it doesn’t work. Ali, Lye, and I tried it a few years back and nothing happened.”

Sam’s eyes narrowed. “Lye didn’t suggest a different chant, did she?”

I shook my head, scared of the look in Sam’s eyes, but it disappeared quickly.

“Good, because Lye knows the real chant to make Bloody Mary appear. You have to touch the mirror with three “Bloodied” fingers each and chant “Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, where for art thou, Bloody Mary?” That’s when the mirror should ripple and a Bloodied woman appears. That’s Mary, queen of the vampire world.”

“Ewwww,” I shuddered, “Glad I never knew the real chant.”

Waving her hand, Sam shook her head, “Mary wouldn’t have touched you with Lye around.”

I was starting to understand a bit more. “So Lye is a part of a different world…?”

“Somewhat. She was born in this world, but she spends a lot of time in a different world.”

“That man… he called her ‘Princess.’ What’s that about?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. Our family’s blood comes straight from the beginnings of our race, therefore, we are royalty.”

So Sam wasn’t human, either. “What’s your race called?”

The door to the cabin opened suddenly and Lye strode in, unscathed. “We’re called Mirror Souls. We can manipulate reflective surfaces that have been enchanted and use them to open portals to different worlds,” Lye threw a folded piece of paper at me and I caught it, “And you’re part of it.”

“Starlight Narita!” Sam scolded, “Why did you do that?”

Lye glared at her mother, her still purple eyes seeming to glow, “She has a right to know.” Lye came towards me but Sam stood up and stopped her.

“Don’t, Starlight.”

Lye pushed her mother away and came to occupy the space her mother was just in. “Skye, you’re part of our Race.”

No, it couldn’t be. I’d lived in Egypt for a while, where my father worked as an archeologist, then moved back to Canada in Grade two, where I’d met Lye. I’d never once gone through a mirror or heard anything about it. I opened my mouth to express my doubt, but Lye- whose eyes had turned blue again and ears gone human- Just shook her head, gesturing to the letter. I started to read it, hoping it would explain things.

“ _Dear Narita clan,_

_Thank you so much for taking care of my daughter while I’ve been gone. I couldn’t even imagine leaving her with another family, because I know no one would treat her just like family as I know you are doing. This letter is to update you on the search for my husband and explain the necklace you should also receive with this letter._

_First of all, we haven’t found André yet. His partners said that he was exploring a recently found tomb when they heard him scream. They went running after him, but after two hours of searching the six-room tomb, they found nothing. There are some decently sized reflective surfaces in the tomb, so I’ve come to the conclusion that maybe he was dragged through one.”_

“ _Second, I know you’re probably confused about the necklace in here. I’ll get straight to the point: we are a family of Makers. But André and I wanted to live as normal a life as possible, so we were punished for turning our backs on our race and the MCFR took our powers. But, because they believed that our offspring might still want to be part of the Mirror Race, they limited their power ban just to me and André. Therefore, Skye does have powers, but in order to keep her human, we had her powers sealed into the choker you’ve most likely found by now._

_I feel horrible for doing this. I never even gave her a chance to be what she was born to be, so I ask you, Samantha, to give her this choker and explain to her what she is. I’m sure she will feel betrayed, but I know you and Starlight can calm her._

_Thank you and good luck ~Theresa Johnson.”_

Rereading the letter over and over again, I tried to make sense of my mother’s words. I started off with the easiest question I could think of.

“What’s the MCFR?”

Lye is the one who answered, “The Mirror Council for Rebels. It’s a corporation that deals with Mirror Souls who don’t want their powers anymore or decide to use their powers for violence, which we are dead-set against,”

Lye took my necklace in her fingers and fiddled with it. I couldn’t see what she was doing, but she sat back again and was holding ¾ of the metal spike in her hand- a vial. She reached her free hand out and took my right hand in hers.

“Skye, there are three types of Mirror Souls. The Johnson family are Makers: keepers of our variety of Holy Water. As Princess I can unseal your powers. That is, if you want them.”

I stared at Lye. Her expression showed nothing, making it impossible to judge whether she was doing this for my sake or her own. I glanced towards Sam, feeling uneasy.

“We won’t force you into anything you’re uncomfortable with, Skye,” Sam assured me, “If you want to stay human, you can. But you’d probably be a lot safer if you unsealed yourself and let Lye train you.”

“I was born magical, right?” I asked

“The MCFR isn’t allowed to seal a child’s power until the age of one,” Lye murmured, “so yes.”

Taking a deep breath, I nodded before I could change my mind, “Then make me into what I’m supposed to be.”

A happy grin crossed Lye’s face and she hugged me tightly. “Yay! Now, I don’t have to keep anything from you! Are you ready?”

She held up the vial and I nodded. Then, she brought my hand, which she was still holding tightly, to her lips and kissed it. I felt a warm, tingling sensation run from the spot she kissed, up my arm and fill my whole body. I went nearly numb and couldn’t anything but watch as a needle appeared unexpectedly from the metal vial and was stuck into the vein on my hand; I felt nothing.

Lye spoke, her voice commanding. “Skye Lucia Johnson. I, Princess Starlight of the planet Echo, hereby pronounce your powers unsealed from their prison deep within your body.”

As if a floodgate had been opened, I sensed something spiralling up from the pit of my stomach. The feeling was euphoric, beautiful, and powerful. I was so caught up in the feeling, that I barely heard Lye continue.

“As the Sacred Water fills your veins and changes your blood, speak the words that come true from your heart.”

As if I’d been prepped beforehand, my mouth moved automatically and my voice spoke on its own accord. “I want to learn what I am, what I should be, and what I can be. Princess Starlight, will you teach me the ways of the Mirror Souls?”

Lye leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine lightly. If my body wasn’t still numb, I would’ve pulled away. Maybe that was the whole point of the numbness. I felt, rather than heard, Lye’s next word.

“Yes.”

And with that, all the ecstatic feelings were gone. Sam and Lye stayed silent as I slowly regained control of my body. Lye screwed the vial back around my neck and smiled at me. I didn’t know what to say, but Sam suddenly spoke, saving me from thinking too much.

“What is she?”

Lye studied me with a lopsided grin. “Not quite sure. Elf, maybe?”

“Eh?” I blinked at both of them in confusion. “What do you mean, ‘what is she?’ I’m a Mirror Soul, right?”

“Well yes,” Lye mumbled, “But because Mirror Souls have mated with other magical beings over the centuries, children are sometimes born with other mystic powers.”

Lye took her iPhone out of her pocket and turned on the camera. She pressed the button to make turn the inside camera on and rotated the phone to face me. At first, I didn’t see anything different with my face, until I noticed my ears. Instead of being curved like normal human ears, they were longer and pointed. Slowly, I reached my shaking hands up and traced along the edge of my ear. They felt the same as always.

“I think we should try to get a hold of Mom.” I said quietly.

“We can’t,” Sam replied, “The return address was to a post office in Egypt. It’s impossible to reply without a phone number.”

“Your powers just got unsealed. They won't all pop out at once, or you'd be overwhelmed,” Lye added, “All we need to do is train you with weapons, rather than your magic, and you’ll be fine.”

I nodded, still reeling from the unsealing ritual. “Now what? We’re still in danger right?”

“Sadly,” Lye sighed exasperatingly, “yes. But Mum and I have a plan for this sort of thing. You and I are going to find somewhere to hide out for a while, most likely in another world, and Mum will stay here and attempt to lead life as normally as possible. Also, she’ll make excuses as to our whereabouts if anyone asks.

Sam went into the kitchen and came out with a black belt, handing it to Lye, who shook her head in response. “I’m not going to need that. Besides, if fox-face knows as much about me as he says he does, hiding out in Domino City might be a bad idea.”

“But you could protect yourself with Yu-chan’s deck, which you have a version of if you remember correctly.”

Listening to mother and daughter send ideas back and forth, I twiddled my thumbs until it was appropriate for me to jump in with a question. “What’s Domino City and who’s Yu-chan?”

Lye didn’t meet my eyes as she replied. “Remember the anime Yu-gi-oh I watched when we were kids?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s Domino City, and Yu-chan is Yugi Mutou.” Lye walked away as soon as she finished her sentence and I jumped from the couch, following her to the kitchen sink.

“What did you say?” I asked in disbelief.

“Exactly what you heard.”

Pressing my fingers into my temple, I groaned. “Just when I think the weirdness is basically over…”

Eyeing me sympathetically, Lye smiled sheepishly. “I told you I’d explain things when we were safe, and I intend to keep that promise, but we’re not safe yet.”

The cupboard over the sink was opened and Lye took out a plain black backpack. She started to take phone chargers and clothes from another cabinet when Sam snatched the backpack from her daughter’s hands and tossed the rejected black belt in it. Lye glared at her mother, but said nothing as she took the bag back and finished packing. Then, she pulled me into the bathroom with her and I found us standing in front of a full length mirror with a wooden brown trim that was painted with little crescent moons and hearts. I saw Sam in the Mirror’s reflection; she was staring at us both sadly. Lye met her eyes and sighed, turning to face her mother.

“We’ll be okay, Mum. You know I can take care of myself, and I definitely won’t let anything happen to Skye.”

Sam dipped her head slightly in acknowledgement, and reached her arm out. Lye stepped in and hugged her mother, who smiled at me and stretched the other arm out. I hugged her as well, feeling a bit of sadness and fear, even though I just got involved in this. After five minutes of a constricting hug, Sam let go and we stepped back towards the mirror.

“Starlight,” Sam said before anything else could happen, “Have you thought yet that, maybe, this is what you were born for?”

Lye didn’t turn around, instead choosing to lower her head. “Maybe,” She sucked in a breath and lifted her head again, “But I really hope not.”

Without any more words, Lye lifted her hand and brushed her fingertips against the Mirror’s surface. I watched carefully as the glass started to ripple and the view changed. In place of our reflections was now a gigantic bedroom. Lye grasped my hand and stepped forward, her body disappearing into the mirror. I clasped my eyes shut and followed her and was met with a slight resistance, then cool air. I opened my eyes and found myself in the bedroom I saw in the mirror. It was bigger than I initially thought and looked like it was built for a princess…. Which made sense, I suppose, considering Lye was apparently a Princess.

I stepped towards the window and looked out. The sky outside was a light purple, as if the sun was setting, but the moon was already high in the sky. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen in my life.

“Skye,” Lye appeared at my shoulder and beamed proudly, “Welcome to the planet Echo.”


	4. Chapter Three

Starlight’s POV

 

Shivering from the initial drop in temperature, I pulled Skye through the mirror behind me. I watched as she opened her eyes slowly and glanced around in awe at my bedroom then turned towards the window, gawking at the purple sky.

“Skye,” I went up behind her, “Welcome to the planet Echo.” I could feel the pride swelling in my gut.

“Oh my god,” She breathed, seeming overwhelmed at the view, “That’s so beautiful. Is that what it looks like at every sunset?”

I smirked, glancing over my shoulder at the clock above the door. “It’s only 2:00pm.”

“Bullshit.”

“Nope, very true. Here, the sun is just like a really bright moon.”

Skye glared at me, “Moons don’t give off their own light.”

I walked over to my closet, pitching the black backpack onto my bed on the way.

“Echo’s does. Remember Kye, we are now in whole different universe. Everything works differently. Want another example?” Skye nodded. “We only get five hours of daylight here.”

“Only five? How does anything grow?”

“We grow human plants in greenhouses set to earth’s cycle. But other than that, we grow native plants and eat native animals.”

Skye appeared beside me at my closet door, glowering at me as I smiled wickedly at her and opened the door. The automatic light in the closet turned on and Skye stumbled.

“Kinda wish you were my real sister now,” Skye muttered.

She lurched into the closet and ran her fingers over the closest piece of cloth: A red silk dress I’d worn to meet the Queen of Neather, a world where the majority of the population was female (who also were the only ones with magical powers).

I let Skye admire my clothes as I went to the back of the closet and searched through my Japanese clothes. It took me a few minutes, but I finally found my favorite Kimono. It had what looked like purple and very light green rolling hills on it and spotted with falling leaves. Sneaking a glance at Skye, who had her face literally buried in one of my green velvet dressed, I quickly shed my jeans and t-shirt, slipping the soft Kimono over my body. It felt feathery and I could tell Lillian had just washed it. I hunted for the matching green obi (sash) to keep the Kimono closed.

“Whoa,” Skye wolf-whistled and I turned to find her eyeing me, “Aren’t you hot in that.”

“Of course,” I found the sash and wrapped it around my waist, “Will you tie this in a bow?”

I held out the ends of the band and Skye took them. I waited as she fumbled with the strings for a few minutes, and then finally got it secured. It wasn't the real way to tie an obi, but it would do.

“Can I wear one?” Skye asked.

“As cute as you would probably look in it, no. These are old things, going back a couple thousand years, therefore they are reserved for a princess only,” Skye’s face fell, so I quickly added, “but, I’m sure I can find something for you. You can’t walk around in Earth clothes, anyway.”

Crossing over to the other side, I skimmed through the hundreds of skirts I had. Picking one at random, I emerged with an ankle length black skirt and gave it to Skye. Then I went for my shirts and picked out a black shirt with a ruffled trim and mesh sleeves. Skye shimmied into the clothes and then looked pitifully at me; the shirt was too big. I reached for a white belt and buckled it around her waist.

Standing back I observed her with care. She needed to look like she fit in and, with her ears still pointed, she did. Except for the sandals. They didn’t match the dress, so I seized a pair of black high-heeled boots and told her to put them on. After she was finished, I was satisfied.

“Great,” I pushed her out of my closet and shut the door behind us, “Now let’s head to the armory.”

Skye followed me out of the bedroom and peeked up and down the hallway. “An armory? What for?”

“I need my swords, and you need a weapon for yourself, so that would be an easy first stop.”

Skye said nothing and trailed close behind me as we made our way down three flights of stairs and underground. Here, there was a tunnel that led to the armory. This way, a person could sidestep going outside to get to the armory in the event of an attack. The walk was a good ten minutes, and then we arrived at the thick wooden door that led to the armory. I was about to push it open, but the sounds of hushed conversation inside stopped me.

I placed my finger to my lips to signal silence and Skye nodded. Letting my Kitsune senses take over, I pressed my furry ears to the door and listened.

“I’ve never seen this before, Roki-sama.” Sennin’s voice whispered, “Hime-dono’s swords were burnt on the inside, but there are no visible marks on the outside.”

“Damn,” Master Roki hissed in frustration, “what the hell is this man and how can he burn a solid object’s centre?”

“I don’t know. Are you going to tell Hime-dono?”

“No, there’s no reason to worry her even more. We will just have to find this man’s world and stop him that way.”

Sennin sucked in a breath. “Hime-dono will have your head if you fight in her place. I mean, she will if you don’t die in battle.”

My heart constricted and I slid down the door to the dirt floor. The thought of losing Roki forever, of him dying in a conflict made for me, made me want to bawl my eyes out right then and there.

But I didn’t. Instead I stood up, leisurely brushed the dirt off my skirt, made sure my ears were human again, and knocked on the wooden door. Sennin opened it and blinked at me, clearly confused,

“Hime-dono. We didn’t expect you back again so soon.”

“Well there was a little conflict in my world,” I walked into the room and looked at Roki, “Fox-face found me, just like you said.”

Roki smirked smugly and stuck his tongue out at me slightly. As mad as I was at him, I couldn’t help the tiny smile that tugged on my lips. Clearing my throat, I made my face serious again and jerked my head towards Skye.

“This is—Lucia. She’s my friend from earth and has been put in danger by this situation. Lucia is a recently unsealed Maker and is in need of a weapon,” I looked back at Sennin, “Please find her something suitable.”

Sennin bowed quickly and took Skye gently by the arm. She looked at me and asked what was going on with her eyes. I smiled reassuringly at her and she willingly followed. When they were out of sight, I squinted at Roki.

“You come with me.”

He nodded and we left the armory, going outside. I chose an unoccupied spot in the corner of the rose garden. There, a stone bench sat surrounded by genetically engineered silver-colored roses. My own idea, because it made the flowers look like they had been submerged in a vat of collected dew.

I sat on the bench and patted the spot next to me. Roki sat down and I was sure he couldn’t have parked himself any further from me. Because of that, I decided to get straight to the point.

“Ro-chan, I’m glad you would willingly fight for me, but don’t. Okay?”

Roki didn’t look at me. “Why not?”

“Because,” I scooted closer to him and laid my head on his shoulders, “I couldn’t stand to lose you. You’re the glue that holds me together and without you, I’d fall apart and probably lose my sanity.”

Twisting his body to face me, Roki wrapped both arms around my head and placed a delicate kiss to the top curve of my ear, tugging me tighter against his muscular frame. For the first time in a long time, I let myself cry on his shoulder. Roki cooed soothingly into my ear, one hand rubbing comforting circles into the small of my back.

“I’m so afraid,” I admitted recklessly.

It didn’t faze Roki any. “It’s okay to be scared sometimes, Princess. It’s a normal feeling. I’m scared too. Want to know why?”

“Mhmm,” My response was muffled because I had my face back in his shoulder, but he understood.

“I’m scared because I feel as if I’m going to lose you in this fight, and it’s the whole reason I was going to fight for you,” Roki leaned back and touched his forehead to mine, “Maybe you’d lose your sanity if I died, but I’d lose much more if you died.”

“Roki—” I started, but he shushed me.

“No, listen to me. Don’t you get it? I’m prepared to die for you because if you were to be killed, I’d be unable to find any other reason to live. Lye-chan,” Roki moved his hands to either side of my head, compelling me to look at him, “you’re my everything, and I’m not going to lose you to some moron in a child’s mask who plays with clouds.”

I choked on a giggle. Only Ro-chan could make me laugh through the tears. I pulled away reluctantly, needing some breathing space after letting out so much emotion. Still though, I had one more question.

“Ro-chan,” I peeked up at him through my lashes, suddenly feeling shy, “You promise not to ever leave me?”

“I’ll follow you ‘till the echoes end, Lila.”

Grateful, I smiled. That phrase was comparable to ‘I’d follow you to the end of the earth,’ but ours had more meaning. It meant total loyalty to someone and it was a vow you could not break, under any circumstance. At least, not until the echoes (the voices of the whole planet's population) ended forever.

“In that case,” I felt myself start to mumble and the words just spilled out all at once, “Willyoustaywithmetonight?”

Without any hint of indecision, Roki bowed his head slightly. “Of course, Princess.”

As thanks, I leaned back over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Roki took my hand and I felt my heart fly with happiness. I’d always wanted to continue the closeness we’d once had with each other, but felt it was impossible due to my status.

Now it felt like I could do anything.

 

 (~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)()~(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)

 

 

_**Skye’s POV, when Lye left her with Sennin.** _

 

I twisted my head as far around as it could go and watched Lye leave with the brown-haired man. I felt a bit of betrayal since she was leaving me alone with someone I just met exactly a minute ago. I mean, this man seemed nice enough but I was in another world now- who knows what the people are like here.

“I’m Sennin,” the man offered his hand and I gingerly shook it. He looked young, and had a slight Asian accent that I couldn’t place because of my inability to distinguish between the Asians.

“I’m Lucia,” I said. Why Lye had called me by my middle name, I don’t know. But maybe I wasn’t allowed to let people know my real name here.

“Yes, Hime-dono mentioned. She said you were from earth, correct?”

I nodded, “Yeah. I just found out I was a Mirror Soul, so the Princess decided I should learn... Soul things... as soon as possible.” To play it safe, I decided to refer to Lye as Princess around here, which is probably what I should be doing, anyway.

“That would be very safe. I’m a weapons specialist here, so my job is to help the people find the weapons that suit them the best.” Sennin stopped in front of a shelf filled with long and heavy looking swords, “Let’s start here. Mirror Souls don’t fight unless instigated, so we mainly use swords, daggers, and the like.”

“May I?” I motioned towards the rack and Sennin nodded.

“Pick anything and see what feels comfortable to you.”

Scanning the rack a couple times, I settled on a long sword with a plain leather hilt and lifted it from the holder and tested its weight by swinging it over my head. Too light for me to hold onto, it flew from my hands and crashed into a shelf of holsters a few feet away. I cringed, glancing at Sennin apologetically. He shrugged and replaced the sword where it belonged.

“It’s okay. Hime-dono did the same thing when she first started. You need a weapon that you can fit into your hand easily, but also one that’s not too light. How much upper body strength do you have?”

I snorted at the idea. “Absolutely none.”

Sennin chewed the inside of his cheek, looking around the cavernous room carefully. “Let’s go over here.

The man led me farther back into the room to another shelf, where there were daggers and other small knives piled almost precariously.

“That doesn’t look safe,” I commented stupidly, “How do you pick something without hurting yourself?”

Grinning, Sennin reached a hand out and stopped just short of touching the shelf. He closed his eyes and whispered a few words. After a second, one of the smaller daggers came flying out and I ducked to avoid being impaled. Sennin just laughed as the knife settled itself in his hand

“This shelf is filled with weapons with magic powers. If you get a weapon from here, it means you’ve been chosen by said weapon and it will protect you even if you don’t know how to fight. Easiest weapon to wield.”

“Ok… How do I get one to choose me?”

“Like this,” Sennin gripped my wrist and placed it just inches from the shelf, “Now close your eyes and, very quietly, say, ‘Weapon of power, please choose me.’”

Freeing my wrist, I lowered my eyelids and repeated the words as said. Much to my surprise, I felt a strangely calming power flow from someplace in my body and reach up to my fingertips. It was like something was blossoming from my body as the shelf started to shake faintly and the sound of clinking metal filled the air. Feeling defenseless with my eyes shut, I cracked them open.

Just in time to see a pair of blades slice the air near my head. I screamed and dropped to the ground. The daggers sailed over me a little ways then dropped to the dirt. Too terrified to move, I stayed put as Sennin went over and picked up the daggers, inspecting them thoroughly.

“Strange,” He murmured, mostly to himself, but I asked what he meant anyway. “These knives haven’t accepted anyone in quite some time.”

I finally mustered up the courage to stand, blinking curiously at Sennin as I did. “Really? When was the last time they ‘accepted’ someone?”

Without looking at me, he muttered the answer so quietly that I had to strain my ears to hear him, “4000 years ago.”

I observed his face, but it didn’t convey anything about his bizarre answer so I just ignored it. Sennin gave the impression that he preferred it that way, because he rapidly picked a maroon leather belt, slipped the bejewelled daggers into the scabbards attached to either side, and shoved the whole thing into my arms.

“Here, the strap goes around your waist. Hime-dono will train you from there.”

“Uhh, thanks? Speaking of the Princess, do you know where I’d find her?”

“Check the rose garden,” He pointed to another door, this one solid iron, “Straight that way.”

I thanked him again and hurried out the door. Outside, I found myself on a pebble pathway that branched off to gardens of many different varieties of flowers. The rose garden, as Sennin said, was straight ahead and I walked towards it. As I hiked on the path, I stopped to stare at many of the types of blossoms. Some I recognized, like a bush of purple violets, but most were completely foreign to me- like a weird fiery red bud with silken petals the size of my hand. I reached the rose garden much slower than I should’ve and froze at what I saw.

Lye was crying on the young man’s shoulder. I jumped swiftly into the nearest bush and held my breath so I could listen. But they were too quiet for me to hear. I waited a few minutes before I cautiously peeked from my hiding spot. Lye was no longer on his shoulder, but still sitting considerably close to him. With a pang of jealousy, I wondered what their relationship was. Obviously, she was close enough to him to be able to cry on his shoulder without worry. Were they a couple? No, Lye would’ve told me if she liked someone, even if she couldn’t have told me exactly WHO it was.

Wouldn’t she have?

Shaking the deceitful thoughts out of my head, I crept back onto the path and then made as much noise as possible, as if I had just gotten there.

The young man jumped away from Lye as fast as he possibly could have, falling to the ground in the process. Lye turned and, upon seeing it was me, grinned happily.

“Lucia!” She jumped from the bench and hugged me tightly. “Did you find a weapon?”

Tapping the belt around my waist, I shrugged, “I found two, actually.”

Lye gawked at the daggers and bit her lip, then turned towards the young man who was still lying in the dirt. “Master Roki, come see which weapons chose Lucia.” Her voice was low, almost scared.

The guy stood up and trailed his eyes from my face to my waist, where they stopped and frowned, “Interesting.” He looked back up at my face. “Who is your family?”

I returned his glared and crossed my arms, “What does this have to do with my family?”

“Okay stop, both of you.” Lye said, stepping in between me and the man, “We have enough to deal with right now without you two acting like children.”

Master Roki said nothing as he continued to stare at me then suddenly looked away. “As you wish, Princess. May I take leave to help plan your departure?”

“Yes, you may go. Please pick up my swords on your way by the drop them off in my room.”

“Certainly, Princess,”

He bowed at the waist and shuffled off, bumping shoulders with me on the way past. I turned to slap him, but Lye caught my wrist.

“Starting a fight with a highly trained swordsman,” Lye said sarcastically, “Great idea, Skye.”

“My apologies, Princess,” I answered in an equally sarcastic voice.

Lye just rolled her eyes and started off on another path; I followed and we walked in silence. I was still seething about that guy bumping into me, but I didn’t say a word. I hadn’t done anything to him, so why was he being so hateful towards me.

“He probably just feels nervous around those daggers,” Lye said suddenly.

“Are you reading my mind?”

“No,” Lye stopped and slung her arm around my shoulders, “I just know you. Master Roki would never hurt you, because he knows I’d kick his ass if he did, so don’t be worried.”

I looked at Lye. There was such sincerity in her eyes that I found myself calming down again, “Okay, but what’s so bad about these daggers? Sennin seemed bothered, too.”

Lye shrugged, “It’s just weird when a weapon doesn’t pick someone for so long. It’s no big deal. Now, come on,” Lye started walking faster, tugging me along behind her, “Let’s go start your training.”

 

(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)

 

  _ **Roki’s POV**_

Reluctantly I walked away from the Princess, leaving her alone with that girl. I could tell the Princess wasn’t worried about those damn daggers, but I was. After not choosing a master for 4000 years, rejecting the Princess herself, and then randomly selecting a newly unsealed Maker with unknown powers, I felt like those knives had some kind of plan going on.

I mean, they _had_ killed the previous Princess.

I stopped in my tracks, the urge to turn around and run back to the Princess swirling deep in my stomach. Lila was alone with a girl I am sure I don’t know at all, but Lucia seemed awfully familiar to me, regardless. And I also had sensed some kind of weird aura about her, something not of the human world or even apart of Echo. She may be a Maker, but there was something else in her, too.

“Roki-sama!”

I blinked out of my thoughts to see Sennin a few feet away, waving madly at me. I trudged towards him, already knowing what he wanted to talk about. Sennin went back in the direction of the armory and I went after him.

“Those daggers,” I whispered as soon as I shut the door behind me, “Have they awakened to hurt the Princess?”

“It’s too much of a coincidence for them _not_ to have. 4000 years is the longest the Souls have gone without a leader, and it’s also the longest a weapon (any weapon) has gone without choosing a master. This wasn’t a fluke, Roki-sama.”

I sighed, the impact form hearing what I had feared most weighing down on me with certain haziness. “What am I to do?”

Sennin grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me hard, “You protect her. Keep Hime-dono with you at all times and do not let those cursed arms take over Lucia’s body,” He stood back and lowered his head sadly, “As they took over Abigail’s.”

An abrupt burst of pain shot through my head. I screamed and fell to the ground, hands pressed forcefully into my skull. I knew what was going on, but that didn’t make it any less painful. I tried to open my eyes (a way to stop the pain), but I couldn’t. It was going to happen.

I was going to remember something of my past life. There wasn’t anything I could do. Bracing myself, I waited for the impact of the memory’s energy.

*Psssshhhh*

There it was.

At the back of my head, I saw a light start to form. Slowly, it started to get bigger and bigger, as if it had nothing better to do than to torture me with its bright glare. As it got bigger, I could see small tidbits of information in it- a girl standing here, a dog there- and I got an idea of what the memory might be.

4000 years ago, Egypt. The previous Princess, Luna, was suddenly in front of me, lying in a pool of her own blood that was seeping gradually into the cold stone floor. Sticking out of her chest was a tiny, silver dagger decorated with blue and red gems and a red leather handle.

The dagger didn’t interest me, I’d seen it plenty of times before, but the girl holding its twin did. She had long brown hair and a pair of matching eyes that were blank and cold-hearted. She squinted her eyes down at the princess, who was groaning lightly. The brown-haired girl bent down, coming face-to-face with the dying princess, and smiled ruefully. It looked as if she didn’t want to do this, so the words she spoke next confused me.

“Die, Onee-san.”

And with that I was back in the armory, curled into the fetal position on the dirt floor. After a quick glance around, I spotted Sennin over at his favorite wooden table, the Princess’s swords in hand. He didn’t need to ask what I’d just seen.

“So,” he asked instead, “About Hime-dono’s going away party…”


	5. Chapter Four

_**Starlight’s POV** _

 

Slash at my right, elbow to the left, spin, and try to bash my head in.

“You’re too predictable, Kye,” I tsked with a grin, “You’d be monster bait in a second with those uncoordinated moves.”

Skye was bent at the waist, hands on her knees as she sucked in huge gulps of air. She glanced up at me with a foul expression.

“You’ve also been trained for this your whole damn life,” She panted a bit more before continuing, “I, on the other hand, don’t even know if I’m holding these things right.” She gripped a dagger in each hand- incorrectly.

“If I could help you, I would, but I can’t touch those. Some kind of barrier is preventing me from doing so,” I eyed the weapons in her hand and lifted my shoulders, feigning disinterest, “Anyway, back to training. Want to know something else that will make you nothing but a sitting duck?”

Sighing, Skye finally stood up straight and took a blocking stance just as I taught her, “Sure. Why not?”

Shifting my feet in the dirt, I let my youkai speed take over and found myself in front of my friend in a millisecond. She shrieked in surprise and fell to the ground as I, very gently, pressed my closed fist into her stomach. I straddled her hips and grinned down at her. Dust settled on Skye’s face and she coughed, all the while giving me the most hateful glare she could assemble.

“You’re full of openings,” I said.

“I hate you.” She muttered stubbornly.

I giggled and stood back up, reaching my hand out to Skye as well. She grasped it and yanked me back down on top of her. She wrapped her arms around my neck and brought her mouth close to my ear.

“And you’re too trusting,” Skye whispered.

Her arms moved downwards and came to rest at my waist. That was when everything clicked and I realized what she was up to.

“Don’t you dare,” I warned in a threatening voice.

The grin that surfaced on Skye’s face was dripping in revenge, “Too late.”

I felt her fingers start to wiggle and the laughter burst out of me. Skye managed to get us flipped over so she was on top, pinning me down with one knee on my belly as she tickled me to the point of almost pissing myself. I tried to tell her to stop, but laughing was taking too much breath out of me. And she was dirtying my kimono.

“Ahem…”

Skye stopped and glanced over my head. Master Roki stood above us. The way his arms were crossed over his chest made it look like he was a parent about to scold his children. I giggled at the thought and Roki glared at me.

“I thought you were training her,” He said matter-of-factly.

“I was,” I pushed Skye off of me and stood up, brushing the sand from my clothes, “But it got boring, so I knocked her down and she wanted to take revenge. It’s not a big deal.”

I saw Roki’s face change as he considered reprimanding me but then thought better of it, “Very well, Princess. Supper will be served soon, so allow me to escort you and Lucia-sama back into the palace to get changed.”

“Alright.”

I pulled Skye from the ground and we followed Roki back towards the palace. Skye craned her head upwards, presumably trying to see straight to the top. I followed her gaze up the blue cement side and, when I saw what she was looking at, stopped dead in my tracks.

“Master Roki, look!”

I pointed to the tallest tower’s tip. Echo’s global flag, a crescent moon reflecting like a pink echo stone on a navy blue background, was hidden by a shroud of black storm clouds. If we were on earth, this wouldn't be a big deal, but Echo doesn't get storms like earth does; the clouds were man-made. Master Roki growled and rushed towards a guard, yelling at him in our native language. Me? I was too scared to move.

“Look closely,” Skye murmured quietly, “There’s a figure in there.”

Sure enough, if you focused enough, you could see an unmistakably human-like figure perched on top of the flagpole. Even from so far away, I could tell it was watching my every move.

“Princess,” Roki was at my side again, taking me gently by the elbow and dragging me towards the door, “We need to get inside.”

“Lu—Lucia..” I glanced behind me, only half out of my horrified daze.

“I’m here, Princess.” Skye took my other arm and I was half hauled, half carried back inside.

Up in my room, I was laid onto my bed and watched unmoving as Roki whispered something to Skye. I wished I could hear what they were saying, but I just didn’t have the motivation to move, as if just seeing the figure on the rooftop had drained all my life energy.

Skye was pointing now, in the direction of the door. Roki nodded and pointed too, except to something out the window. Skye made a gesture of acknowledgement and left the room, giving me a pitiful glance on the way out- I still didn’t move. Roki perched on the edge of the bed and placed his hand on my arm.

“Princess?” He asked lightly, “Are you okay?”

“Ro-chan,” I tried to read up to him, but my arm wouldn’t move, “I can’t move.”

“You’re just scared.”

I shook my head, glad I could still at least do that, “No, I really cannot move. It’s like I no longer have control of my own body,” A tear slipped out against my will and I sniffled, “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” Roki moved his hand from my arm to my cheek and I leaned into the touch, “But I’ll find out, I promise.”

He got up and I shook my head in panic, “Don’t leave me.”

“Don’t worry, Princess. I’ll be back as soon as possible. I’ll leave Mazaki at the door, okay?”

Reluctantly, I nodded. Even if Roki left, Mazaki was just as reliable. He started off as a gate guard, where nothing big really happened and the guards usually slacked, but not Mazaki- he stood there for as long as his feet could take it. That determination had gotten him high enough to be trusted guarding me quicker than any other guard in the palace.

After Roki left, I looked around my room in boredom. I still couldn’t move my body, so I settled for counting the swirls painted in rainbow colors on my ten-foot-high ceiling.

“One, two, three, four, fiv—“

The words in my throat suddenly stopped and I found that I couldn’t move my head or my eyes. Panic churned in my stomach as I used all my strength to try to move, but nothing worked; all I could really do was breath and, even then, I found my chest didn’t move.

Finally, after a few more panicked minutes, my head moved; but I wasn’t moving it- it was moving on its own accord. It looked all around my room, seeming to look for something. My eyes landed on the vanity table across the room and scanned the top of it, looking over every object.

Until my eyes landed on a pair of nail scissors.

 

(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)

# Roki’s POV

 

It pained me to leave the Princess in her vulnerable state, but I had no choice in the matter. I felt better leaving Mazaki at the door, however, because I knew he would take his position seriously and not let anyone in the room.

Anyway, I needed to attend a meeting to make plans for Lila’s departure- and make sure that the Lucia girl wasn’t doing anything suspicious. I still didn’t trust her with those knives around the Princess; or Lucia in general. There was just something about that girl that made me anxious the second I met her.

Speak of the devil (a phrase I’d learned from Lila); I caught a glimpse of Lucia across the courtyard, looking lost. She was spinning in place, obviously trying to find the direction she was supposed to be going in. I sighed and walked up to her.

“Did you find Sennin?” I asked.

Lucia nodded, “But now I can’t find my way back. Please be so kind as to point me back to Lye’s room.

I shushed her immediately, glancing around at the palace residents milling around, “Call her ‘Princess’ or ‘Hime-dono’, but don’t ever call her by her name around all these people!”

Lucia rolled her eyes, “Sooorrryyyy,” she said sarcastically, “Kindly point me to _Hime-dono’s_ room, then.”

A maid and one of the chefs stopped at Lucia’s words and glanced at us quizzically. I smiled reassuringly at them and said that she was new around here and didn’t know any better. Then, I grabbed Lucia by the shoulders and steered her into a nearby tunnel that led to the outer garden.

“Listen to me carefully, girl,” I said through clenched teeth, “If you’re not going to take things seriously around here, then you’re going to get yourself-and Lye-chan- into a lot of trouble, understand?”

I waited for an answer, but the girl just blinked at me with a mix of emotions swirling in her eyes.

“You just called her ‘Lye-chan,’” She said wretchedly, “What’s up with you two, anyway?”

Confused, my brain tried to decipher the Earth phrase I know I should’ve been able to understand. I knew Lila sometimes said ‘what’s up’ to ask how people were doing, but that meaning didn’t quite fit into the present conversation, but so I wouldn’t give Lucia anything worse to say about me, I told a half-truth while also denying anything she might suspect.

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” I said, crossing my arms.

Lucia snorted, “Oh, please. I saw you two on the bench earlier. Sennin said that you were Lye’s trainer, but I’ve never seen an instructor hold a student the way you were holding Lye then.”

Oh, so that’s what that saying meant; Lucia wanted to know the relationship between me and the Princess. A grin slowly spread over my face. If this girl wanted to know our relationship, I’d tell her.

“Lila and I have known each other our whole lives. We’re _very_ close.”

“I—I--,” Lucia stammered, “I’m sure Lye and I are closer. I mean, she spends most of her time in the- on- earth, so…”

“Are you sure? Think about it: She’s completely trained in multiple fighting scenarios, her room looks completely lived-in, and you only started living with her a year and a half ago, if what Lila told me is correct. How do you know what she did after school when you weren’t living there? Did you hang out every day and see where she was 24/7?”

Lucia opened her mouth to speak, and a lone tear trickled down her face. Suddenly, I was remorseful about what I said and I went to apologize.

“Lucia, I—“

“Roki-sama!”

Spinning on my heel, I saw Mazaki running in our direction, frantically waving his hands. I ran to meet him halfway.

“What’s wrong, Mazaki? Why did you leave the Princess alone?”

“That’s… just... it...” Mazaki puffed, “Hime-dono locked the door and she wouldn’t open it, no matter how hard I pounded on it.”

Lucia cursed, pushing past me and running in the direction of the palace. Mazaki and I followed, going as fast as we could. Lucia navigated the twists and turns of the palace hallways easily, apparently remembering where she was going now that her friend was in danger. I could give her credit for that one, at least. She obviously cared. It made me feel even worse about what I’d said.

“Princess!”

Lucia was hammering her fists on Lila’s bedroom door when Mazaki and I rounded the corner. She beat the door senseless, then slipped a dagger from her holster and tried cutting through.

“Kyaaa!” She screamed as a barrier threw her backwards and into the stone wall behind her. She squinted at me in pain and disbelief, “The fuck was that?!”

“Good question…”

I reached out and touched the door, but nothing happened. Then, I snapped my fingers and a spark ignited between them. Rubbing my palms together until the heat was too much, I fired a blast of flames at the door, but they just bounced off. I covered my head and ducked low as the fireball flew around the narrow hallway a few times before it finally went out.

“There must be some kind of barrier preventing any kind of magic being used to open the door,” I said.

“Then break it down!” Lucia replied, still panicking.

I shook my head, “Impossible, the door is reinforced so it can’t be broken down easily; but,” I added at Lucia’s crestfallen face, “I know where we hide the key.”

I shooed Mazaki away and then slipped my fingers into a little gap between the doorjamb and the wall behind it. It took me a little bit of searching, but I finally grasped the miniature key hidden in there and pulled it out. I inserted it into the keyhole and the lock clicked.

The door creaked open slowly and the room beyond was eerily silent. Before stepping inside, I glanced at what I could see from the doorway- Lila wasn’t anywhere to be seen, therefore, I went a bit further in and put my hand up behind me to signal to Lucia to stay back. Thankfully, she obeyed and waited in the entryway.

“Princess?” I asked cautiously, “Are you in here?”

A sniffle sounded from the bathroom in the back, right corner of the room. I glided over to the door silently and stood to the side of it, listening. There were whimpers of someone trying not to cry coming from inside.

“Lye-chan, are you okay?”

The snuffles stopped, “I’m fine, just go away,”

“No,” I stepped through the doorway and nearly fell over at the sight.

Lila was huddled naked in the corner, knees drawn up to her chest; but that wasn’t the shocking part. There were bleeding gashes all over her arms and legs and blood was smeared all over the floor and Lila’s body. I shuddered and stepped back out into the bedroom.

“Lucia!”

The girl rushed in but I pressed my hand against her collar bone to stop her. Lucia glared at me, but I could tell it was feeble as she was too worried about the Princess.

“Is she okay? Let me see her!” Lucia tried to push past me but I held her back.

“The Princess is…” I hesitated a touch, “not dead, and I need you to do something for me. Go back out, go to the left, down the first two flights of stairs and look for Lillian. Tell her you need a mental healing medicine and some soup.”

Thankfully, Lucia didn’t argue, “What kind of soup?”

“Anything, just go.”

Lucia complied and left. I hurried back to the bathroom and set to work straightaway. I crouched in front of the Princess and positioned a finger under her chin and forced her to look at me. Her eyes were red-rimmed from crying and her face had a few small splotches of blood on it. Before she could say anything, I yanked her up off the floor and pushed her into the shower room. She stumbled onto the little stool and sat there, unmoving.

“I’m bleeding…” Lila murmured senselessly, studying her arms one at a time.

She was worse than I originally thought. Those wounds would be hard to heal without magic. I bit my lip, not wanting to do what I knew I had to so the Princess would get better.

“Ro-chan,”

I glanced back at Lila’s naked form. She was staring at me much like a child would, with her eyes wide and innocent. When Lila was hurt, her common sense would back away and she'd act like a child. It took exactly what I didn’t want to do to get her better, but I decided it was the only way.

“Lila…”

Her head cocked to the side at her name and I stepped forward before I could talk myself out of it; my lips pressed gently against Lila’s and I heard her yelp in shock. Determined to make Lila better, I stopped her from pulling away by grabbing her upper arms roughly. I didn’t like being hard on the Princess, but it was what she needed. I could feel my healing powers surge up from below my stomach and flow from my lips to Lila’s.

“Roki!”

Lila pushed me away and I finally stepped back. I could already tell her mind was cleared, as she was trying to cover her body up so I wouldn’t see; I just chuckled at her failed attempt.

“Not like I haven’t seen you naked before, Princess,” I said and threw a washcloth at her, “Now clean yourself up.”

I stepped out of the shower room and shut the door behind me. The blood on the floor was starting to leak into the cracks between the blue and grey mosaic tiles, so I set to work scrubbing it down. When I was done, I searched for the object that Lila has used. My eyes landed on a bloodied pair of nail scissors on the sink and I groaned inwardly.

I locked the scissors in the nearest drawer and went back out to the bedroom to find a silver tray on the table by the door. On top of two bowls was a note.

‘ _Roki-sama, Lucia-san will stay with me for the time being so Hime-dono can heal properly. Good luck. ~Lillian.’_

No doubt Lucia had resisted this notion, but I was glad that Lillian had thought of it. Now, I could keep the Princess company without her friend hanging over my shoulder. Furthermore, I was admittedly jealous that I now had to share Lila when she was here. In the past, she’d come visit and spend most of her time with me- but now that the girl was a Maker, I wouldn’t get any alone time with Lila.

“Roki…”

I turned at the Princess’s voice and found her standing uncertainly in the bathroom doorway , wrapped in her white cotton robe. Her hair hung down her back in wet strands. If it didn’t get brushed, it would tangle.

“Princess, are you all cleaned up now?”

Lila nodded at my question and switched her gaze to the tray in my hands, “What’s on that?”

I set the tray down on her bedside table and picked up the first bowl, “Lillian’s healing medicine,” I switched to the second bowl, “And soup.”

Coming to sit on the bed, Lila made a face, “What kind of soup?”

Shrugging, I scooped up a spoonful and examined it.

“Pretty sure it’s chicken, so don’t worry.”

The princess had never actually found a taste for Echo’s native meat and usually preferred food from Earth for her meals, so the some of the town’s inhabitants had taken to learning Earth’s way of raising certain plants and animals to please their ruler. I had personally overseen the project and it had placed me in a higher rank than the rest of the palace personnel, which is why they used the ‘sama’ honorific for me.

I caught the Princess reaching for the bowl in my hand and I quickly snatched it away.

“How are your arms and legs?” I asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Lila bared the underside of her arms. The injuries had reduced to shallow scratches; her legs were the same. My magic had healed her nicely. After she pulled her legs back under her, I expected her to reach for the bowl but, instead, she spoke.

“You know I don’t approve of your… healing methods.”

Sadly, she wasn’t talking about the soup. I put the bowl back down and sighed.

“I know, Princess, but you were gravely injured! You would’ve died if I hadn’t done that!” I had started yelling and I lowered my voice a bit, “What was I supposed to do?”

A warmth appeared on my back. I rotated my neck as far around as it could go and found Lila’s own back pressed against mine. This was her way to saying thank you without really speaking it aloud.

“Just don’t do it again unless absolutely necessary, okay?”

“Yes, Princess.”

Undeniably, my healing powers were a bit unorthodox for someone who spent so much time on Earth, where kissing wasn’t really a liked thing when it was done randomly. Here, however, I could heal someone’s physical wounds with just a touch of the lips and I was highly praised because of it. Around the Princess, I have to remember to keep myself in check.

“Now,” The Princess moved away and sat cross-legged against her pillows, “Where’s Lucia?”

“She’s with Lillian,” I picked up the medicine bowl again inched closer to Lila to hold it to her lips, “Drink this, then you can eat the soup.”

Lila took a wary sip from the dish and then slurped it back quickly, wincing slightly. I didn’t blame her- Lillian’s medicine was nasty, tasting like hot tar in my opinion. I placed the empty bowl down and picked up the soup. Lila took the container from me and pointed to the mirror near the window.

“I can eat this myself. I want you to go get my mother.”

I started to protest, but the Princess held a hand up to stop me and then pointed to the mirror again. Without a word, I got up from the bed and complied with the Princess’s orders.

This should be a fun trip.


	6. Chapter Five

_**Starlight’s POV** _

 

As soon as the mirror stopped rippling, I hopped from my bed and used the intercom to tell Lillian to send Skye back up to my room.

“Are you sure, Hime-dono?” Lillian asked timidly through the speaker.

“Yes, Lillian. Do so now please.” I ordered in my nicest voice.

Lillian said she would and then the intercom went silent. Five minutes later, Skye burst through the door and threw her arms around me straightaway. I laughed and hugged her back.

“Holy shit, Lye!” Skye said angrily, “I was so worried! Roki wouldn’t tell me what happened, and then the maid wouldn’t let me leave her side, I mean… Geez,”

“I’m fine, Kye. I was just… being mind-controlled a little bit. No big deal,” I mumbled the last part quietly.

Skye narrowed her eyes at me but, thankfully, didn’t say anymore. She simply sprawled across my bed and snuggled up to my pillows. I sat beside her and picked up the soup to study it. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Roki or Lillian to lie about what was in it, but I was going to be cautious about it, just in case.

Thrusting the bowl in Skye’s face, I told her to taste it.

“Why?” Skye asked warily.

“Just because.”

“No way. I’d be stupid to try soup made on a different planet!”

Putting the bowl down, I nodded in agreement, “Keep thinking that way. It’ll help in the long run.”

“Speaking of which,” Skye sat up, “What are we doing here? I thought we had to go someplace where fox-dude couldn’t find us. Obviously, he can find you here, soo…”

I chewed on a strand of my hair (a nervous habit I’d had since I was a baby) and shrugged, “We’re just staying for tonight. I meant to only be here for a few hours- just to get some stuff we need for our trip- but because of everything that happened, I decided we could stay for at least a night.”

“Oh. So where am I going to sleep?”

A shiver ran down my spine. There was a place I’d been planning to put Skye tonight, but it wasn’t a place where I was _supposed_ to put her. I let my gaze travel past my friend’s head to a dark mahogany door set into the same wall my bed’s headboard was against. Skye followed my eyes and asked what was behind said door.

“You’ll know when Mum gets here.”

And just as I said that Roki stepped through the mirror, holding my mother’s hand and pulling her over behind him. Before she could even recover from the trip, I jumped up and wrapped my arms around my mother. She hugged back tightly and then moved on to hug Skye.

I shooed Roki out. He started to protest, but I glared at him as hard as I could and he bolted out the door without speaking again. I locked it behind him and turned towards Mum, deciding to get straight to the point.

“I need you to unlock the door to the Red Room.”

Mom’s demeanor shifted from relaxed to hard in two seconds flat.

“No,” She said firmly.

“Do it.”

“Look, _Princess_ ,” Mom said through clenched teeth, “I’m still your mother, and I said no.”

“Skye needs a place to sleep.” I pointed out.

“You’ve never had a problem sharing a bed with her before.”

Mentally, I slapped myself for not thinking of an argument before Mum got here. I got my stubbornness from her, of course, so it would be a hard battle to convince Mum to unlock the mahogany door.

I struggled for an excuse that was better than telling her I would be sharing my bed with Roki tonight.

“I don’t want Skye in the bed with me because..”

Suddenly, I got an idea. I held my arms out, palms out, and showed my mother the cuts.

“Because it could be her that gets hurt next.” I finished quietly. It wasn’t a total lie; it could happen.

“What the hell happened?!” My mother cried, taking both my wrists in her hands and inspecting the cuts closely.

“Well apparently fox-face can do some kind of mind control.”

“My lord,” Mum pulled back and sighed, running her fingers through her red hair hair, “Alright, I’ll open it.”

Mum glided past me and to the door. Skye came up behind me and stared at me inquiringly.

“What?’ I asked.

“What’s the big deal with that door?”

“It’s kind of a reserved room, but we don’t have anyone to fill its space right now, so it’s empty.”

“Oook…” Skye silenced herself for a second, then looked at me again, “So who is it reserved for?”

Mom, coming out of the room after turning its lights on, shushed Skye quickly.

“It’s for Starlight’s lady-in-waiting, which is an important role in Echo history. The people don’t like when tradition is changed, so don’t tell anyone you stayed in this room. Keep the other door locked and only exit through the one attached to Starlight’s room, understood?”

Skye looked puzzled, so I elaborated, “I’ve had a lady-in-waiting before, but misfortune came to pass and…” I looked straight at Skye, “She died.”

Skye’s eye widened, “Can I take my chances with you?”

“She didn’t die in that room, Skye,” I said as I dragged my friend towards the room, “It was just hers beforehand and, because she passed away, I’m not really supposed to let another person in there, or take another lady-in-waiting.”

“It’s unorthodox,” Mom concluded, “So do you know why no-one can know you slept in there now?”

“Yeah,” Skye said, although I knew she didn’t really.

We entered the room and Skye inhaled sharply. I guess the Red Room was overwhelming for anyone who had never set foot in it. The moon’s bright light shone luminously through the bare windows; Mum had pushed the blood red curtains to the side. I studied the varying shades of red in the room, starting at the velvet covering the bed to the silk tapestries and ending at the plush red carpet.

“I haven’t been in this room in years,” I murmured carelessly, then clamped my mouth shut as Skye gave me a peculiar look.

Luckily, Mum saved me by steering me back into my own room.

“Get some sleep now Skye,” Mum said softly, “You’ll need your energy for tomorrow. There’s nightgowns in the closet.

“Uhh, ok.” Skye said, “Night, Lye.”

“Night, Skye,” I whispered as the door shut between us.

 

(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)

Skye’s POV

 

As the door shut me off from Lye, I couldn’t help but think there was more behind this dead lady-in-waiting thing than what Sam and Lye told me. Sam had been reluctant to open the door and Lye… I don’t know what was up with her, but she seemed to take on a whole new persona when she had stepping into the room, changing from laid-back, to wary. I’d _never_ seen her be wary before.

Everything in this room was red. I didn’t know whether or not to regard it as tacky or creative, but it was definitely beautiful. The carpet under my toes was so thick and lush that you could sleep on it without problem, and the silk on the walls was soft, too. It wasn’t as big as Lye's room, but it was a room that was definitely built for comfort.

I walked over to the closet and opened it. Again, not as big as Lye’s, but it was still filled to the brim with clothes. I searched for and picked out a light blue nightgown, wishing more than ever for my pyjama pants.

Changing quickly, I went to climb into bed. I was just slipping under the blankets when I heard a loud voice from Lye’s room.

“You put the girl _where_?” The voice sounded angry, and I knew straightaway it was Roki.

I tip-toed over to the door and pushed my still-pointed ears against the doors. My hearing was much clearer with the non-human ears.

“Yes, Roki,” Lye shushed, “I put Lucia in Mandy’s room. Got a problem?”

“Actually Princess, I do. That room is something that should’ve never been opened again, and now you’ve violated the sacred seal!”

I heard nothing, but I knew Lye well enough to feel that this was a heated silence.

Finally, she spoke again, “I’m the fucking ruler around here; I’ll do what I please.”

“Do you not remember what happened to the last Princess who said that?” Roki growled furiously, “She was murdered! By her own goddamn sister! Honestly, Lila, I’m starting to think you’re _trying_ to make history repeat itself. I—“

Roki suddenly stopped speaking. I had a sudden desire to have x-ray vision so I could see what had made the swordsman shut up for the first time since I met him.

“That’s just want you want, isn’t it, Princess?” Roki said almost inaudibly. “It makes sense now. I mean, Mandy died when you were eight and you befriended Lucia…”

“Shut up, Roki,” Lye demanded in an impressive tone, “I don’t want to hear it.”

“Princess,” Roki’s voice softened considerably, “Do you wish to die?”

The stillness that followed that sentence was scarier than anything I’d ever encountered. Its presence weighed heavily on my shoulders and I stumbled away from the door until the back of my knees hit the mahogany footboard of the bed. Without warning, a tear escaped and slipped down my cheek.

Did Lye really have a death wish?

 

(~)(~)(~)((~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)()~()~(~)(~)(~)

 

Starlight’s POV

 

“Princess, do you wish to die?”

I looked away from Roki as my vision blurred slightly. If I told him I didn’t, then it would be a lie- but I didn’t always want to die. There were times that I loved my life, there really was. Sometimes, however, I just felt that it would be easier (and safer) for some people if I was dead. It certainly would be with the situation we were in now. I flapped my hand towards the mahogany door, placing a soundproof seal all around it. Skye didn’t need to know what I was about to tell Roki.

“When Mandy died,” I started tentatively, “It felt like someone had ripped my heart out of my chest. I could feel no happiness, sadness, or pain; absolutely no emotions whatsoever. Even though I was young by human standards, I sensed my ageless soul awakening- and it did not want to live. Therefore, I wanted to pass on as well.”

I took a shuddering breath, trying to calm myself down, and continued.

“School started that September. For the first month of grade three, I was that lonely, anti-social kid whom nobody wanted to play with- but then October came around. And Sk—Lucia—entered my class. Princess Luna’s memories played through my head when I first saw Lucia and all I could think was _‘Abigail.’_ The name repeated over and over again in my head and I saw my way out of life.”

My body was shaking with unreleased weeps, and I couldn’t hide it. Roki gently coxed me over to the bed and sat me down. Because they weren’t supporting my weight anymore, my legs trembled. I’d never told anyone this story, not even my mother.

“Keep going, Lila,” Roki cooed sympathetically.

I nodded, “Then the teacher made Lucia stand up in front of the class and told her to tell us about herself. I learned that she had lived in Egypt all her life because her father was an archeologist searching for—something. I can’t quite remember what. It proved that she was Abigail’s reincarnate, because wherever the soul is released from its previous body is where it enters another that will look exactly like it's previous host. Admittedly, our friendship at first was just me using her for information. But it grew into so much more once I got to know her.

“Roki,” I looked straight at him pleadingly, “She’s nothing like Abigail. She’s her own person, has different interests, different ways of doing things. And even though I started out using her, I grew to love her so much. She brought be out of my depression. I couldn’t stand if something happened to her.”

“I—“ I could tell Roki was searching for the right words, “I never knew. I’m sorry I didn’t pay more attention, Princess.”

“It’s not your fault. I didn’t _want_ anyone to know, so I hid it well. A suicidal Princess probably wouldn’t make the townsfolk very happy.”

Roki chuckled softly, “No, probably not,” He sighed and got up off the bed, “I think it’s time to go to bed. You have a long day ahead of you, tomorrow. I’ll have to go get my night pants from my room..” He stared at me meekly.

“Don’t want to leave me alone?” I asked with a grin.

“Not really.”

I lay back on my pillows and stretched my arms out to my sides. “I promise not to move from my bed.”

Roki squinted at me teasingly and I returned his gaze steadily. He backed out slowly and left the door open a crack. His room was only down the next hallway, so I quickly bent over the side of my bed and pulled a random knee length nightgown from the clothes box under my bed; I didn’t like to keep my underwear and night stuff in the closet. I inspected it quickly: It was baby blue and made of silk. Good enough.

I untied the bow of my white sash and slipped my robe off my shoulders. The cotton felt nice on my skin and I sighed happily. No world- no matter how much I loved it- could compare with Echo and its goods.

Reluctantly, I drew the soft fabric fully off my body. About to glide the nightgown over my head, I paused at a noise behind me. Turning my head, I saw the door move slightly and I smirked. Roki was prying again; he was such a snoop.

“Ro-chan,” I purred delicately, “Are you spying on me?”

The door swung open and Roki examined me sheepishly from the entryway, wearing a pair of plain black cotton pants. He obviously hadn’t anticipated being caught, but he should’ve known better.

“I was doing no such thing, Princess,”

Roki’s voice was confidant and, if you weren’t looking at him, you might believe what he said- but I was looking at him. He eyes were not on my face, but trailing down my bare back. I didn’t have a bra on, but luckily had chosen to replace my panties after my shower.

“You know,” I said, keeping to a cooing tone, “you’re a horrible liar. And it doesn’t help when you attempt to stare at my ass.”

A blush crept across Roki’s face as he lifted his head and made a good effort to keep his eyes more north.

“But since you’re here,” I said as I tossed the nightgown at him, “Will you help me into my nightdress?”

Roki clutched the cloth to his bare chest and nodded eagerly. I giggled at his reaction and turned my head back around as he clambered onto the bed and knelt behind me. Unhurriedly, he ran each hand down my arms to my wrists and guided them up over my head, stopping there.

I leaned back into his chest, wrapping my arms around his neck and resting my head in the crook between his jaw and collarbone. His whole body shuddered against mine and he positioned his hands lightly on my waist.

Maybe it made me a tease, but I loved bugging Roki this way.

“Princess....” Roki whispered against my ear.

I shivered in reply. Ok, so maybe I loved the touching more than anything else, but who could blame me? Roki had the most tender and softest hands you could ever encounter. Also, as a swordsman, he had a strong grip that made people feel safe. Sadly, though, anything less-than-innocent thoughts I had about Roki were not allowed. Roki was just a palace employee. The highest in the place, mind you, but still too low to be qualified for my companion. I was permitted to marry a prince or some other kind of nobleman, but no-one else. I sighed and went limp in the arms that were around me.

“I know what you’re thinking, Princess,” Roki tightened his grip, “That is one law that could be flexible, if you wanted it to be.”

“I—“ I stumbled over what I wanted to say. What did I want to say anyway? I couldn’t think straight with Roki’s hands on me.

“Do you want to change that law?” Roki enticed.

Did I? Ever since I was young, I’d been confused about my feelings for Roki. Sometimes, I felt as if I couldn’t live without him. Other times? We fought like combatants, which resulted in nothing more than a brotherly-type love towards the swordsman.

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly.

Roki sighed. I could feel a lifetime of yearning behind that one exhale and I glanced at him apologetically. He smiled back reassuringly and picked up my nightclothes. I untangled myself from him and let him put the gown over my head. His hand ghosted over my sides as he pulled the hem of the dress down.

“Let’s go to sleep, Princess.”

Roki hauled me towards the pillow and I submitted to the tugs, snuggling under the blankets with him. He pulled his pillow closer to mine and we lay next to each other, my face buried in his chest and his chin on top of my head. He petted from my neck, down to the middle of my back, and back up again. The motion was soothing, and I felt myself drifting off quicker than expected.

“Ro-chan—“ I trailed off, the numbness of sleep taking over.

“Shhhh. Sleep, my beautiful girl. We’ll talk in the morning.”

At that, I lost consciousness.  


End file.
